Since 1994, San Francisco’s LaborFest has brought together workers, artists, and scholars to memorialize America’s labor movements, past and present. Through panels, films, concerts, and site visits, it aims to foster dialogue across lines of race, ethnicity, gender, and craft.
This year, LaborFest will celebrate labor balladeer Joe Hill (pictured here), framed for murder and executed in Utah one hundred years ago. It will examine contemporary workers’ struggles, with special focus on privatization and wealth disparity in the tech economy. And it will continue to showcase important moments in labor solidarity—including the organizational efforts and artistic expressions of the New Deal. Events for this year begin on July 3rd.
Members of the Living New Deal team are lending a hand in this popular celebration, as they have for several years. Join Project Advisor Harvey Smith on Sunday, July 5th for a walking tour of Coit Tower’s murals. That same day, New Deal Film Archivist Chris Carlsson will lead his “Cycles of Labor History Bicycle Tour.” A week later, Harvey Smith and Gray Brechin will conduct a bus tour of WPA sites around San Francisco.
For a complete list of activities, as well as information on ticket prices and how to register, please visit LaborFest’s page of scheduled events.